Clay flow baffle



Oct. 25, 1949. w. J. F. ocoNNoR y 2,436,200

. CLAY FLOW-BAFFLE Filed Dec. 17, 1946 lll/ llllllllllll lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllqllllllllllllllA y INVENTOR.

MWJZZMIMI' By UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE 2,486,200 CLAY FLow BAFFLE Ward J. F. OConnor, Bayonne, Nul., atslgnor to The Lummus Company, New York, N. Y., a cox'- poration of Delaware Application December 11, 194s, serial No. 11a-:so

This-invention relates to an improved method andapparatusfor controlling the tlow of a granular materialand more'particularly'to the uniform gravity' ilow of a granular material throu'glia cles may range in normal size from aboutyi to 60 s calms. (ci. 259480)' 2 vention to assure the uniform ow of contact material -in the gravity movement of large beds which may b e from 8 to 18 feetin diameter..

mesh and preferably from about 4 to 8 mesh byV Standard Tyler Screen Analysis.

This invention is particularly concerned with iMorespeciically, Iprovideanimproved formof I chambersuch as a .catalytic reactor used incon.- 5 w control bailles. soi arranged. asile prevent tinuous catalytic contact processes.- choking of many of the openings .audio assure. Exemplary 0f Such DIOGESSeS are the catalytic' the continuous downward movement of all-'parts `reforming of naphtha and gasoline, catalytichyof the'contact bed. drogenationrdehydrogenation; isoformlng, alkylit further object; of myinvention will appear.' ation, desulphurizarion, aromatization, Land 1 0 from the following descriptiontaken in conneccracking of hydrocarbon fractions. Typical of tionswith the'attachedfdrawings which are'illusf` y such processesis the catalytic cracking convex# trativeof a preferred form of. embodiment of the sionof hydrocarbons, it being wellknowm for exf invention and .in which; ample, that gas oils boiling within the rangeof Fig. l; is' central -verticalsection through an imvabout 450?. 'to 7503.- F. .upon being contacted 15 proved form of. reactor taken substantially along adsorbent materials at temperatures Y he line'A I- 'l of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a horizontal see'-, ofthe order of 800 F. and higher and usually at tion through thelreactor shown in Fig. 1 with super-atmosphericpressures may be converted to parts broken away to showA diiere'nt ballles for lower boilinghydrocarbons containing #large flowcontrol plates. i Y l amounts of .gasoline. The catalytic materials in- 3.15 an emmedifhozontal-section taken y j volved in such processes may take the 4f orm of substantially along thelineof t-.aofFi-g.' v1. natural' or treated. clays. bauxites, alumina and. In the present day operation of continuousbed certainsynthetic associations of silica. alumina, v catalytic conversion .units for the cracking of or silica and alumina to which-smallpercentages gasoline and-for other4 purposes, il;v isfcustomary of other materials maybe added such as certain to continuouslymove by gravity a 'bed of contact metallic oxides. vThe catalysts may vary'in partimaterial through areactionchamber at a rate of cle size depending upon the type of process iii-4 100 tons vper houror more. With' apparatus of volved. For processes wherein the catalyst moves a this type it is necessary to build the reactors from through the conversion zone as a substantially v 10 to 20'feet in diameter and'in` order to have the compact .column of particles, the catalyst partidesired reaction time the reactors have been as high as 150 feet from the inlet to the outlet.. To such reactors .it is common Ato feed either vapors or liquids in either a concurrent ora countercurrent manner and at such a temperature that an improvement in that type of catalytic converthe desired reaction will take place. Although I sion process whereinY a particle form catalyst is do not show either a complete reactor or a compassed cyclically through a conversion zone plete regenerator which followsthe reaction step wherein it moves as a substantially compact and permits the removal of carbon by oxidation, I `column and is contacted at elevated temperature have diagrammatically shown the lower portion with gaseous hydrocarbons to elect the converof a chamber whichis of this general type.

sion thereof and through a regeneration zone More particularly the converter Ill is provided wherein it moves as a substantially compact witha conical or pyramidal base portion I2 which column and is contacted with a combustion supextends to the outlet I4. This converter In is porting gas acting to burn oil' the catalyst carpreferably i'llled with a gravity moving contact bonaceous contaminants deposited thereon durmaterial I6 which may be of any ofthe customary ing the hydrocarbon conversion. types.

In many of these operations, the chemical re- In accordance with my invention I provide a action that takes place is a function of the conplurality 'of1 transverse flow. control bailles inditact surface area and the temperature of the concated at I3 and I5 both of which are provided tact particles and of the temperature of the rewith suitably spaced openings generally indicated acting materials. It has become apparent that at 23 and 25 respectively. If desired, suitable average conditions are always below optimum nozzles I9 and 20 will be used below the opening conditions and the greater the irregularity of flow, 23 and 25 respectively. the greater the deviationin results. In this chamber the flow of granular material through the nozzles I9 will result in the forma- It is therefore the principal object of my in- 2,4.eaaoo tion of angles of repose in the nature of conical piles 26 of the contact material. The ilow across the entire reactor can be made uniform by the provision of an adequate number of openings 23 by which the total mass is uniformly passed downwardly.

In order to pass the material from the second baille I5 to the bottom it is desirable to utilize fewer holes and preferably one opening 25 is suil'lcient for four of the upper openings 23. In other words by increasing the diameter of the nozzle 20 it will have the capacity of four nozzles I9.

An important feature of my invention is the provision of the guide plate which projects into the upper end of the nozzle 20 and is provided with a cruciform shape which actually divides the opening 25 into quarters.

It is my observation that without the use of the guide plate 21 there is a tendency for the pile of contact material 26 to choke the entire opening into nozzle 20. If the flow slows down in one pile and accelerates in another there will be a continuous bridging of the slower moving pile with the result that the faster moving pile will ,rapidly draw oil from only one section of the baille above.

These ilow characteristics were observed in a cutaway model. It was observed in this model that the difference between ilowing catalyst and stopped catalyst on the side of a pyramidal pile of catalyst 26, such as exist between flow baiiles, could be as little as one or two degrees and the angle of flow would increase with the increase of fines in the catalyst mass. This condition makes it necessary for streams flowing to a single hole to intersect at the center of the hole, or very nearly so, in order to maintain ilow through all holes. At low catalyst flow rates the streams that do not intersect at the middle of the drawoi hole stop flowing.

By the use of the guide flow plate 21, the flow from any one pile 26 will be independent of that from any other pile 29. This condition is brought about by extending the guide plate 21 a sufficient distance above the baille I5 and a suiiicient distance down into the nozzle 20. The flow guide plate 21 must be a suicient distance above the baille I5 to prevent the catalyst from owing over the top of the guide flow plates. It must extend a suflcient distance into the nozzle so that the direction of ilow of the catalyst from any of the pyramidal piles of catalyst will be so changed in the guide plate from a direction at an angle to the vertical axis of the chamber to a direction substantially parallel to the vertical axis of the chamber. Thus, at any point in the lower part of the nozzle 20 the particles of catalyst will be flowing in substantially parallel, separate paths and the catalyst from the separate pyramidal piles 29 and 26 flowing to the same opening will not interfere. In this manner the bridging across of the slower moving pile will be effectively eliminated thereby providing for a uniform flow of the material across the chamber.

I nd it also desirable to use a similar guide plate 28 which projects into the outlet opening I4. In this manner I can provide a single outlet opening I4 for four nozzles 20 with the result that I can have uniformity even with two stages of geometric progression.

The guide plate 28 is also of a cruciform shape. This is necessary when, as in this ease, four of the downflow holes lead to a single opening on the next baille below. It is obvious, however, that 4 this guide baille or guide plate may have a greater or lesser number of sections depending on the number of holes it is used to draw off from. In the example chosen there are four holes feeding into one hole on the plate below.

It should be noted that the sections into which a hole 25` is divided by the guide baille 21, must each be of an area equal to or less than the areas of the holes 23 drawn from on the baille I3. This is necessary in a contact chamber of the type described where a gas seal must be maintained in the baille zone at the bottom of the chamber. By making the area of each of the openings on the lower baille less than the total area of the four holes on the upper baille from which the respective lower opening draws catalyst, in the example chosen, the lower holes will be substantially filled with flowing catalyst at all times even with small variation in the total catalyst flow through the contact chamber. This consideration is not important, of course, where it is not necessary to maintain a gas seal at the bottom of the chamber. Then, it is only necessary that the lower holes be 0f an area approximately equivalent to the total area of the holes from which they receive the iiowing granular material.

While only two stages are shown, it will be apparent that it may be desirable to proceed with more than two transverse baiiles and it will also be apparent that the guide plates might be provided with 2, 3 or 5 openings depending on the physical conditions involved.

It will also be noted that I have shown only a square shape reactor; it is equally possible to use a cylindrical reactor.

In a typical case for a catalyst rate of flow of 150 tons per hour, the small holes would be four inches in diameter and the opening into the nozzle 25 would be slightly less than 8 inches in diameter with an outlet opening I4 of slightly less than 16 inches diameter. The catalyst in this arrangement ilows from four of the small holes to one of the lower and larger holes. The crosssectional area of each of the larger holes is a little less than four times the areas of each of the smaller holes.

The capacity of such a unit is materially increased by the use of the iiow guide baiiles as herein described. In the aforementioned unit the capacity was increased from tons of catalyst per hour without the flow guide baffles to a rate in excess of tons per hour with the ilow guide bailies with uniform flow of catalyst across the chamber.

My invention is applicable not only to catalytic reactions but to any other processes in which it is essential that there be a uniform gravity. flow of granular material through a chamber. Thus, this same arrangement might be used for insuring the even ow of a granular material such as a coking catalyst in a continuous coking process, or granular substance used to transfer heat continuously between high and low temperature sources.

It is obvious, of course, that the apparatus, herein described, would be useful to control the ow in such non-reactors as grain elevators, coal or gravel hoppers and the like.

While I have shown and described a preferred form of embodiment of my invention, I am aware' that modifications may be made therein and I, therefore, desire a broad interpretation of my invention except as it may be limited by the follow- 75 ing claims.

-but proportional number of openings of relatively greater cross section, guide substantially I claim:

1. A chamber of the class described having inlet means for the introduction of a granular material which flows therethrough solely by the effect of gravity, discharge means at the lower part thereof to remove said granular material and means to control the uniform now of granular material over the entire cross section of the chamber, said flow control means including a plurality of horizontal baiiies, the uppermost of said bailles being provided with a number of spaced openings, the lower baffles having a lesser number of openings of relativelygreater cross section, each spaced to receive a ow of granular material froma pluralityof openings in the bale next above, guidemeans in said openings in the lower baflies dividingthe cross-sectional area of said openings into substantially uniform areas approximately equal to the cross-sectional areas of each of the openings in the -baille next above from which the opening in the lower baille receives granular material whereby the velocity of now from each of the openings in the baille next above is maintained substantially uniform.

2. A chamber of the class described having inlet means for the introduction of a granular material, discharge means at the lower part thereof to remove said granular material, and means to control the uniform gravity flow of granular material over the entire cross section of the chamber, said flow control means including a plurality of horizontal baffles, the upper of said baiiies being provided with a number of uniformly spaced openings, the lower baille having a lesser number of uniformly spaced openings of relatively greater cross section, the lower opening drawing from a plurality of upper openings, guide means in the openings in the lower baille dividing the cross-sectional area of said openings into substantially uniform areas approximately equal to the cross-sectional areas of each of the openings in the upper bale from which the opening in the lower baille receives granular material whereby the velocity of flow from each of the` openings in the upper baille is maintained substantially uniform.

3. A chamber of the class described having inlet means for the introduction of a granular material, discharge means at the lower part thereof to remove said granular material and means to control the uniform gravity flow of granular material over the entire cross sectionof the chamber, said flow control means including a plurality of horizontal bailies, the upper of said bailies being provided with a number of uniformly spaced openings, the lower baille having a lesser uniformly spaced means in the openings in the lower bailles dividing the cross-sectional area of said openings into uniform areas approximately equal to the cross-sectional areas of each of the openings in the upper baille from which the opening in the lower baffle receives granular material whereby the velocity of ow from each of the openings in the upper bale is maintained substantially uniform, the discharge means at the lower part of the chamber being provided with guide means dividing the area of a discharge opening into individual areas substantially equal to the cross-sectional areas of each of the open-` ings in the baille next above whereby uniform cross-sectional ow is maintained .from'the bame next above into'the discharge opening.

4. A chamber of the class described having -divigiual areas substantially equal inlet means for the introduction of a granular material. discharge means at the lower part thereof to remove said granular'material and means to control the uniform gravity flow 'of granular material over the entire cross section of the chamber. said iiow control means including a plurality of horizontal baffles, the upper of said ballies being provided with a number of uniformly spaced openings, the lower baille having a lesser but proportional number of uniformly spaced openings of relatively greater cross section, guide means in the openings in the lower bailies'dividing the cross-sectional area of said openings into substantially uniform areas approximately equal to the cross-sectional areas of each of the openings in the upper baflle from which the opening in the lower baille receives granular material whereby the velocity of flow from eachl of the openings in the upper baille is maintained substantially uniform, said guide means extending a suiicient distance above and below the lower baille thereby providing independent iiow paths for the granular materials flowing to veach of the sections of said guide means, and the discharge means at the lower part of the chamber being provided with guide means dividing the area of a discharge opening into into the crosssectional areas of the openings in the baffle next above whereby uniform cross-sectional flow is maintained from the baille next above into the discharge opening.

,5. A chamber of the class described having means to control a gravity flow of granular material, as claimed in claim 4, in which the guide means in the openings in the lower baille divides the cross-sectional area of said openings into four substantially uniform areas.

6. A chamber of the class described having inlet means for the introduction of a granular material, a discharge opening at the lower part thereof to remove said granular material, and means to control the uniform gravity flow of granular material over the entire crossrsection of the chamber, said flow control means including a horizontal baffle having a number of uniformly spaced openings, and guide means in the discharge opening of said chamber dividing said discharge opening into'individual areas substantially equal to the cross-sectional areas of each of the openings in the horizontal baille whereby uniform cross-sectional flow is maintained from the baille next vabove into the discharge opening.

7. A chamber of the class described having inlet means for the introduction of a granular material, discharge means at the lower part thereof to remove said granular material, and means to control the uniform gravity ow of granular material over the entire cross section of the chamber, said ow control means including a plurality of horizontal baiiiesfthe upper of said bailles being provided with a number of uniformly spaced openings, said openings each being provided with a downwardly 'extending nozzle, the lower baiiie having a lesser but proportional number of uniformly spaced openings of relatively greater cross section, guide means in the openings in the lower bailles dividing the cross-sectional area of said openings into substantially uniform areas approximately equal to thecross-sectional areas of each of the openings in the upper baille from which the opening in the lower baffle receives granularmaterial whereby the velocity of flow from each of the openings in the upper baille is maintained substantially uniform, said guide means extending a suicient distance above and below the lower baille thereby providing independent ow paths for the granular materials flowing to each of the sections of said guide means, said openings on said lower bailles being each provided with downwardly extending nozzles, and the discharge means at the lower part of the chamber being provided with guide means dividing the area of a discharge opening into individual areas substantially equal to the cross-sectional areas of the openings in the baille next above whereby uniform crosssectional ow is maintained from the baille next above into the discharge opening.

8. A chamber of the class described having inlet means for the introduction of a granular material, a discharge opening at the lower part thereof to remove said granularmaterial, and

means to control the uniform gravity flow of granular material over the entire cross section of the chamber, said flow control means including a horizontal baille having a number of unlformly spaced openings and guide plate means dividing said discharge opening into individual areas substantially equal to and laterally aligned with the respective cross-sectional areas of the openings in the horizontal baille, said guide plate means extending above said discharge opening and projecting thereinto.

WARD J. F. OCONNOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,496,896 Laoon June 10, 1924 2,085,132 Underwood June 29, 1937 2,125,245 McCray July 26, 1938 

